Page 134 - guidance-supporting-europe-s-aspiring-entrepreneurs-policy-and-practice-to-harness-future-potential

Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs
Policy and practice to harness future potential

Matching mentors to mentees in terms of demographic and sector
experience (Wikholm, 2005) or attitudinally, contributes to mentee satisfaction
with the support received from their mentors (St-Jean and Audet, 2009). That
said, many programmes prefer not to pair a mentor and mentee together from the
same type of firm to avoid possible competition and prevent discussions from
becoming too technical, which falls outside the scope of mentoring.
Mentoring relationships that go beyond simple verbal exchanges can help
mentees develop their understanding of their personal attitudes, values,
motivation, self-efficacy and goal setting (St-Jean and Audet, 2008). Explanations
of why things work (or do not), the opportunity to question an experienced mentor
and the simple process of working with a trusted individual, can assist personal
development through affective learning.
Trust is essential in a mentor-mentee relationship, considered necessary to
upholding the ‘moral contract’ which establishes the goals, means, roles, plan of
action and timeline for the relationship (Erdem and Aytemur, 2008). Willingness
to plan and set goals appears to go hand in hand with trust; these two
dimensions appear mutually supportive.
The mentees’ own characteristics can affect the success of the relationship;
a ‘typical’ entrepreneur might be characterised as resisting help. The following
mentee attributes have been identified (St-Jean and Audet, 2008) as crucial to a
solid mentor relationship: openness to feedback; sincerity about one’s needs and
weaknesses; setting realistic expectations with the mentor; the ability to
communicate problems clearly; initiating frequent contact; willingness to discuss
failure as well as success; recognition of the importance of mutual respect; and
confidence, openness, and readiness to do all that is possible and appropriate to
develop a solid relationship.
As well as identifying the key success factors contributing to effective
mentoring relationships, it is also important to reflect on problems within mentor-
mentee relationships, described as ‘toxic mentoring’ (Gravells, 2006). If the
mentor spends times ‘boasting’ to the mentee of his/her successes, it presents
an unassailable image of success that inhibits the mentee from being open. The
relationship will not work if the mentor fails to listen carefully to the needs and
situation of the mentee. The mentor should not be too formal or distant and nor
should the mentor try to live vicariously through the mentee, becoming too
involved in trying to make the mentee business work and setting up unhealthy
dependencies.

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